Raquel Santos
Raquel Santos (1921-) was President of Brazil from 2004 to 2008, succeeding Eduardo Doreira and preceding Brenda Moreira. Santos was a popular president despite being 83 when taking office, and, while she was accused of corruption (such as allowing for corrupt party members to remain in the Chamber of Deputies and for the controversy surrounding Caio Caxias' death in 2007), she led her party to become the country's dominant party for several years. Biography Raquel Santos was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in 1921, and she worked as a lawyer for decades. She was involved in the original Brazilian Labor Party under Getulio Vargas, and she was later involved in the opposition to the Brazilian military regime of the 1960s to 1980s. She became a leader of the resurrected PTB after the restoration of the democracy in 1985, and she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2000 and became PTB leader. Santos was a populist who advocated for progressive economic reforms, winning her the support of Brazil's working-class. In 2004, her party won a landslide victory at the polls when they became the largest party with 30.05% of the vote and 12 seats in the Chamber. In the presidential election two weeks later, Santos defeated PMDB leader Joao Iacovo with 52.3% of the vote to his 47.7%. Presidency Santos' first act as President was to pass a law which legalized prostitution, which was narrowly legalized in a 16-15 vote. However, as economic growth stagnated, the government was forced to vote down the introduction of sex education classes in a 14-13 vote, hoping to cut government expenditure to prevent a depression. A tsunami forced the government to spend R$25,000 on repairs, and the budget dove into the negatives. The PTB washed much of its dirty money and employed its vast treasury to help the budget return to normal levels, but expenditure still remained high. The PTB failed, in a 15-15 tied vote, to abolish agriculture research to stabilize the economy, which continued to decline. The PTB then decied, in a 25-10 vote, to legalize gambling, but this failed to stabilize the economy. The ensuing election saw the PTB remain in power with 30.75% and 12 seats, while the PMDB dropped to 19.85% and 8 seats, the PSDB rose to 18.19% and 7 seats, the PT dropped to 15.03% and 6 seats, and the Progressistas rose to 16.17% and 7 seats. Santos won re-election with 59.4% of the vote to Iacovo's 40.6%, having won the confidence of the people with her salvation of the economy. The Chamber voted 18-16 to approve tough gun control measures, voted 25-6 to turn down an arts subsidies program in order to help the economy recovery, voted 29-3 to abolish the bus transport service to help the economy recover, and voted 19-18 to approve a pollution tax. In the weeks leading up to the election, the PTB launched a media offensive against the PSDB and the PMDB, but the Chamber rebelled by passing a sex education act 17-13, narrowly voted down press freedom in a 19-16 vote, and decided to protect plant varieties in a 27-5 vote. The ensuing general election saw the PTB drop to 26.61% of the vote and 11 seats, the PMDB dropped to 19.34% and 8 seats, the PSDB rose to 18.39% and 7 seats, the PP rose to 17.56% and 7 seats, and the PT rose to 18.11% and 7 seats. Santos was then re-elected with 53.7% of the vote to Iacovo's 46.3%. The Chamber then voted 19-17 to approve national parks, but the Chamber voted 13-7 to abolish sex education, this time with the PTB abstaining. On 31 December 2006, a terrorist attack demoralized Brazil. Against the wishes of the PTB, the Chamber voted 18-13 to approve a driver's license program, leading to more government expenditure and slowed growth for the economy. The election of early 2007 saw the PTB rise to 31.73% of the vote and 13 seats, while the PMDB dropped to 16.10% and 6 votes, the PSDB rose to 19.22% and 8 seats, the PT rose to 19.25% and 8 seats, and the Progressistas dropped to 13.7% and 5 seats. Santos had PT deputy Caio Caxias assassinated, as he was formerly a PTB deputy before betraying the party; his assassination shocked the Chamber, with some suspecting the PTB's responsibility. Nevertheless, Santos won re-election with 54.9% of the vote to PT leader Mariana Santanha's 45.1%. That same week, Santos stood down as party leader in favor of Brenda Moreira, and she decided that this would be her last term in office, as she was already 86 years old upon being re-elected. During her last term, Santos shot down any proposed programs while attempting to create new taxes to help the economy grow, but her tax proposals were also defeated by both the left and the right. A flood and the ensuing government response led to the budget falling into the negatives once again, and the Chamber voted 24-8 to abolish the driving license program, stabilizing the economy. The PTB then helped to refill the economy by donating money from its own budget, and the PTB became popular for saving the economy. In the general election of mid-December 2007, the PTB won 39.58% of the vote and 16 seats, the PT dropped to 18.19% and 7 seats, the PSDB dropped to 17.94% and 7 seats, the PMDB dropped to 14.07% and 6 seats, and the PP dropped to 10.22% and 4 seats. The ensuing presidential election saw Moreira defeat Santanha 58.1% to 41.9%, succeeding Santos as President. In early 2009, Santos retired from politics to live out the rest of her life in peace. Category:1921 births Category:Brazilian politicians Category:Brazilians Category:Politicians Category:Catholics Category:Brazilian Labor Party members Category:Brazilian social democrats Category:Social democrats Category:Brazilian presidents Category:Presidents